Jonathan Davies wants to get back on the big red bus. The Wales and Scarlets star can’t wait to tackle rugby’s southern hemisphere superpowers this autumn, but the biggest thing he is looking forward to is playing in front of a full house at the Principality Stadium once again. The world champion Springboks, New Zealand, Australia and Fiji are all due in the Welsh capital this autumn and Davies, who captained Wales during the summer series against Argentina, says the players are relishing the chance to face the world’s best.

Cardiff Demons take on London Broncos this Saturday in Aldershot (kick-off 3pm) as they look to make history by reaching the inaugural Women’s Super League South Final.

Anthony Limbrick insisted he was proud of his players’ Euro campaign despite The New Saints’ agonising defeat to FC Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic. TNS suffered penalties heartbreak as their chance to reach the Europa Conference League were ended by a 4-1 shoot-out defeat. The outcome was made all the harder to swallow as Saints’ goalkeeper Paul Harrison had earlier been hit by a bottle thrown from the crowd.

New Swansea City head coach Russell Martin insists he is hopeful captain Matt Grimes will remain at the club. Grimes was expected to join the raft of other players who have moved on since the end of last season and has been linked with Premier League Brighton and Watford as well as the Swans’ Championship rivals, Fulham. Bournemouth are also understood to have re-activated their interest in the player in the past few days.

Olympic medallist Holly Bradshaw will be part of a strong entry for this weekend’s Welsh Senior Athletics Championships in Cardiff. Bradshaw – who won a bronze medal in Tokyo in the pole vault – is set to be joined over Saturday and Sunday by the likes of Great Britain Olympic 4×400 team member Joe Brier and the best of Wales’ athletics talent, many of whom will be chasing qualifying standards for next year’s Commonwealth Games as well as medals. Olympic 1500m finalist Jake Heyward is entered in strong 5,000m and 1,500m fields, but it has yet to be confirmed whether he will race following his efforts in Tokyo which saw him finish ninth in the final.

The New Saints have been warned to expect a very different task when they bid to hold onto a two-goal Europa Conference League advantage in the Czech Republic tonight. FC Viktoria Plzeň manager Michal Bilek has told opposite number Anthony Limbrick he will face something far tougher than was served up by the Czechs when they came to Wales. Limbrick’s team moved into a 4-0 lead at Cardiff City Stadium last week before conceding two late goals.

By Tom Prosser  Marley Watkins only has a Cardiff City contract until the end of August but he may have just earned himself a longer one as he bagged a brace against Sutton United in the 1st round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday Evening. Watkins’ goals played a big part in the Bluebirds coming from behind to record a 3-2 win over the Football League’s newest team. “He’s done his chances of signing a longer-term contract no harm,” said Cardiff manager Mick McCarthy.

By Tom Prosser New Swansea City signing Flynn Downes is eager to start working with his new gaffer Russell Martin and has revealed the former MK Dons boss played a big in his decision to move to South Wales. “I am buzzing to be here, it’s a massive club and I cannot wait to get going,” said the 22-year-old. “I spoke to the gaffer, and I just liked the way he came across, the players they have got and it all just added up for me. “The style of play massively appeals to me, I played against the gaffer’s side with Ipswich last year and I think we only touched the ball about four times during the entire game.

Cardiff and Swansea athletes warmed up for this weekend’s Welsh Athletics Championships with some excellent performances in the National Athletics League. Swansea Harriers produced a fine all-round performance to finish second to Bristol and West AC in the Premiership West fixture in Yate with Cardiff Athletics 4th. The result leaves Swansea in 11th place out of 16 teams in the Premiership table, with Cardiff Athletics in 13th. Thames Valley Harriers lead the league from Harrow AC.

By Alex Bywater  Welsh Fire’s men’s and women’s sides had days to forget at Edgbaston on Monday as both teams were hammered by Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. But an immediate shot at redemption is on the cards with a trip to Southern Brave today (WEDS) offering a chance for the Cardiff-based outfits to bounce back. Fire’s men’s head coach Gary Kirsten admitted he was hugely disappointed to see his team dispatched by the Phoenix by a mammoth 93 runs.

By Owen Morgan Welsh sprinting siblings Hannah and Joe Brier have enjoyed an eventful few days on the track. Firstly Joe represented Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics where he took part in the men’s 4x400m relay heats. The following day, Hannah was a gust of wind away from breaking the Welsh women’s 100m record at the National Athletics League Match in Yate.

By Tom Prosser Welsh boxing star Lauren Price created history for both herself and her country at the Olympics as she became the first person from Wales to win a gold medal for boxing. Price who lives in Ystrad Mynach, battled her way to Olympic glory in the women’s middleweight final early on Sunday morning, defeating China’s Li Qian to take top spot on the podium but her route to success has been a rather unusual one to say the least. When she opted to chase her dream of Olympic boxing glory over her promising club football with Cardiff City, she helped make ends meet by driving a taxi at weekends.

The Tokyo Olympics will be remembered as the Games where Welsh women re-wrote their country’s history. Hannah Mills and Lauren Price not only came home with gold medals, but their achievements were trailblazing firsts for the nation. Together with Matt Richards and Calum Jarvis, they not only contributed to three gold medal events won by Welsh athletes for Great Britain (providing gold for four athletes as swimmers Richards and Jarvis were part of the 4 x 200m freestyle relay squad) but the Welsh female pair have now gone where no others have gone before.

By James Skeldon  Glamorgan coach David Harrison was full of praise for the way in which his side put themselves on the verge of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Royal London Cup with a comprehensive eight wicket win over the Notts Outlaws at Sophia Gardens. “The boys were fantastic. We’ve bowled well all competition and to knock off only 73 runs has made us very happy,” said Harrison. “We saw that the pitch had been used on Friday for the Welsh Fire game in The Hundred and had been under cover for a few days, so we thought there would be a bit of moisture in the pitch if we bowled first.

Marlon Pack admitted Cardiff City’s tribute to Peter Whittingham left him with a lump in his throat – and a protective arm around teammate Joe Ralls. For the first time since Whittingham died last year at the age of just 35, the return of supporters for the opening day 1-1 draw with Barnsley meant Cardiff fans were able to join an emotional big screen tribute to arguably their greatest player. Images of Whittingham, and his goals, triggered a heartfelt response among the Bluebirds players and midfielder Pack – who opened the scoring – revealed: “I found myself choking up and getting a lump in my throat. 

Michael Flynn had his faith in 42-year-old striker Kevin Ellison rewarded with an opening day 1-0 victory at Oldham. County experienced late delight in Sky Bet League Two as Ellison’s goal handed them a gritty away win in his 24th season of professional football. It was his 160th goal. The hosts were without five key men due to Covid-19 protocols as well as injuries and lacked the necessary spark up top in the absence of Dylan Bahamboula and Hallam Hope.

New Swansea City manager Russell Martin insists he was encouraged by his team’s “courage” in trying to adopt his passing style, even though his first match in charge ended with a 2-defeat at Blackburn Rovers. The Swans suffered opening day defeat at Ewood Park – a venue where they have not tasted victory for 50 years – with Jamie Paterson marking his debut with a goal. The visitors had trailed to a Sam Gallagher goal and a Ben Brereton penalty after a mistake by Swans keeper Steven Benda, but finished the game strongly as they adjusted and adapted to a new gameplan and style of play under the 35-year-old Martin.

Mick McCarthy joined Cardiff City fans in an emotional tribute to the late Peter Whittingham – before hailing another sweet striker of the ball playing in blue. The Bluebirds manager admitted he once tried to sign Whittingham, who died in March of last year, meaning this was the first opportunity of returning fans to honour arguably the club’s most talented player in their history. After a big screen tribute to the midfielder, along with more than 200 fans who have passed away in the past 18 months, it was left to McCarthy’s new signing Ryan Giles to rekindle memories of Whittingham’s artistry.

Alun Wyn Jones battled with his emotions after his British and Irish Lions were dramatically beaten 19-16 by South Africa in the deciding Test, with the hosts clinching the series 2-1. “Obviously we are hugely disappointed with the result but I think the endeavour and the turnaround was there from last week,” said Jones. “We were in it until the death. I’m very proud of the bunch, very conscious of what we represent but hugely disappointed. We wanted to come out for the second half with more of the same.

Lauren Price confirmed her status as Wales’ greatest Olympic boxer by winning gold in Tokyo and then dedicated all her achievements to her grandparents. The fighter from Ystrad Mynach dominated her final bout against China’s Li Qian to gain a 5-0 points victory and become the first Welsh boxer to win an Olympic title. Already a world champion in the sport, Price, 27, could now lay claim to being one of Wales’ greatest ever sports stars – male or female – having also won world titles in kickboxing, played 52 times for the Wales women’s football team, and made age group appearances for her country in both netball and taekwondo.